Pavement construction



B. RANSOM E PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTI O'N March 9 1926. .1,576,066

Filed Feb. 26, 1925 Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT` orFloE.

BERNARD RANsOlvIn, or DIABLO, CALIFORNIA a I i PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed February 26, 1925.k Serial No.

To all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that l, BnRNAnn RANsoMr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Diablo, county of Contra Costa, and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in lPavement Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a paving structure and especially to a form of asphalt surfaced plank or timber by which trackcrossings, roadways, floors, etc., which are subject to heavy traffic may be paved or` covered.

The object ofthe present invention is to generally improve and simplify the constructionA and wearing qualities of pavements of the character referred to; to provide a-paving material, comprising planks, timbersor the like, adapted to be placed side by side crosswise of a road or surface to be paved and each plank surfaced with a semi-resilient material such as asphalt or the like to form a wearing surface for the planks; to provide an expanded metal strip for eachplank to secure the surfacing material and to prevent creeping thereof when the pavement is completed, and further to provide aplank-supported pavement which may be manufactured and entirely completed,v except for the laying thereof, in `a conveniently located centralized plant Vso that the'material may be retained in stocl for immediate shipment and laying when required. v

One form which my invention may as sume is exemplified in the following descriptionand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, invwhich- Fig. ll is a cross-section of a track-crossing showing the paving material,laid andin position.

Fig. A2 is ,an enlarged cross-section of one of the pavingy planks.

Fig. 3 is a partial plan thereof.

Referring to the drawings in detail, land particularly tok Figs. l and 2, A indicates a plank or timber formed of wood or any other suitable material. Forming a covering for the upper surface of the plank and extending from end to end thereof is a channel-shaped section of thin sheet metal. The flanges of the channel overlap the sides of the timber and may be nailed or otherwise anchored thereto as indicated at 2. The channel thus secured on top of the timber is lprovided for the reception of aA surfacing material, such as an asphalt or bituminous mixture as indicatedfat and for the purpose of securing the surfacing material a key or bond 1s formed between the materia-l and the metal by expanding or roughing the bottom surface thereof as shown at 4; that f is, the bottom section of the channel is expanded or roughened in a manner similar to plaster iron lath, such as used in building and partition construction, and assuch forms an ideal key or'bond between the surfacing material and the timber. metal proper is not only secured tothe plank or timber by means of nails 2, butthe expanded' bottom section may also be secured by staggered nails such as indicated at 5.

The plankslor timbers are treated if desired in the factory, for-"instance, by creo-v soting them or otherwise, and rthe metal channels are then applied rto their upper surfaces and secured by means of the nails The indicated at'2 and 5. The surfacing mate'- rial, whether asphalt or otherwise, is then filled in the channels and the surface thereof is raised to the point indicated at 6 infFig. 2. The planks or timbers thus prepared are ready for use and ymay be shipped directly operation of placing and laying the pavement' Where the pavement is used in connection with rail-c`rossings such as shown in Fig. 1, heavy timbers'l are employed, "but where the pavement' 1s used on an ordinary roadway orvfor the floorv of a wharf or fac tory, it is possible touse lighter planks or timber. :The timbermerely forms a foundation for the'wearing surface and as such should be in proportion tothe loador traffic handled.

By bonding or keying the surfacing material to each individual plank or timber as here illustrated, itcan readily be `seen that creeping of the surfacing material is pracl tically prevented, and it can furthermore be seen that a fairly thin layer maybe employed as it is securely Vheld in position by the expanded bottom sections 4 and the channel edges 4a. Experience shows that a thin=coating`or cover of asphalt or `like materialhas less tendency to creep than a heavy layer, and as the covering orlafyer is in this instance bondedgwith relation to each individual plank, it is possible to form a covering as thin 'as desired; thus obtaining asxnooth and permanent covering and wearing surface.' It can furthermore be seen that a pavement of this `character canbe quickly laid as each plank in reality forms a complete section of the pavement;v that is, the pavement is, Substantially completed at the,` factory and it is therefore only `necessary to prepare the `roadbed and in place the planks side. by V"side `when laying the same, and finally, to pour in the grouting material between the adjoining sections as indicated at 7. The work of laying the pavement is thus rapid and as thebond formed between the surfacing material and the planking is exceedinglyV eiiicient, long life and durability can be assured.`

`While, timbers or planks have here been referredV to, I wish it understood that other materials, such as concrete, might be em- `ployed. lt should also benoted that the asphalt or bituminous mixture might be substituted with rubberor anyother sen1i resilient material suitable for the purpose, and further that various changes in form and .proportion may be resorted to within Vtheseope of the appended claims.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

l. lIn a pavement i structure, a plank adapted to be laid crosswise of the pavement, a channel shaped section of sheet metal secured to the upper surface of the plank and extending longitudinally from end to end thereof, afiller of semi-resilient surfacing material .in the channel section and secured thereby, and a key member inthe bottom of the channel to `form a bond between the channel and the filler.

2. Ina pavement structure of the. char?.` acter dscribechaplank adapted to be` laid crosswise of the pavement, a channel shaped section ofsheet y,metal secured to the upper surface-of the plank and extending longif? tudinally from end to endthereof, the side portions, of said channel member having downwardly turned flanges adapted to einbrace the Sides of. .the Plank, and: a-ller ef semi-resilient surfacing material in the chan,- nel` ,section-and Secured thereby, said ,Sheet ,metal channel having all expanded bottom section t0 form: a key' and hand. between the filler andthe Channela. lne pavement structure a plank'ad'apted tto be laid ciiosswise; ofthe pavement, an expanded sheet metal section secured to .the` upper surface of the plank andextending ,i longitudinally `from: end to end thereof, a filler of asphalt forming a covering for the expanded metal section and plank and keyed `to the plank by the expanded metal section,

and an upwardly. projecting metal edge on each side of the plank extending from end to end thereof. i l i 4. A pavement structure comprisinga series of plankslaid side by side, a channel# shaped sectionlof sheetinetal secured to the series of planks laid side by side, a channel- V shaped section of sheet metal secured to the upper surface of each plank and extending from end to end thereof,` a `filler of semiresilient surfacing material ineach channel section, said filler Vextending `above the upper edges of the channels and the side edges of the filler being shaped to form ini `clined faces so asy to form a substantially V`-shapedgroove between each channel section, and a grouting material forming "a fil-ler for each V-shaped groove `to provide a continuous smooth surface.

6. A pavement structure comprising a series of planks laid side by side, achannelshaped section of sheet metal secured to the upper surface of each plank and extending from end to end thereof, a ller of se1niresilient surfacing materialin each channel section, said liller extending `above the upper edges ofthe channels and the sideedges Y ofv the `filler being shaped ,to form inclined vfaces so as to form a substantially V-shaped groove between eachchannel.A section, a grouting material `forming afiller for each V- shaped groove to" provideacontinuous smootlrsurface, and' an` expanded bottom ,section in eachchannel forming,4 together 14 v'viththe` channel' edges, a .keyand abend `to secure the filler and to prevent creeping thereof.

a channel-shaped section of'sheet metal se'- curedto the upper surfaceof the plank and extending frontend to end thereof, an expanded bottom section in the channel, and a semi-resilient filling material in fthechannel and keyed to the plank by the expanded bottom section of the channel.

BERNARD RANSOME,

7.` A paving material comprising a plank,` 

